Reviewed by the finduni team · Last verified 16 September 2026 · Sources: Home Office: Student and Child Student caseworker guidance, Home Office: Student sponsor guidance, sponsorship duties
Two different interviews
Students often call both of these a credibility check, which is where the confusion starts. They are separate:
- The pre-CAS interview is run by your UK university before it issues your CAS.
- The UKVI interview is held by the Home Office as part of your Student visa application, after you have a CAS and have applied.
Passing one does not mean you will not face the other, and each is decided by a different organisation.
Side by side
| Pre-CAS interview | UKVI interview | |
|---|---|---|
| Who runs it | Your university, or a team acting for it | The Home Office (UK Visas and Immigration) |
| When | After your offer, before the CAS is issued | After you apply for the Student visa |
| What it decides | Whether the university issues your CAS | Feeds into the Home Office decision on your visa |
| What rules govern it | The university's own process, under its sponsor duty | Home Office Student caseworker guidance |
| How it is held | Set by each university; no official format or length | Interviews can be held by telephone, or arranged by email or phone for a set time and place. |
| What it looks at | Usually your background, course, university, finances, plans and English | The genuine student factors in the Home Office guidance, listed below |
The pre-CAS interview: the university's process
The Home Office does not tell universities how to run a pre-CAS interview. What it does set is the sponsor's duty: A university sponsoring students must do all it can to ensure prospective students are genuine students who can comply with the Immigration Rules.
Each university decides for itself whether to interview, who to interview, how and for how long. Your university's admissions or compliance team can tell you what to expect. For preparation, see the pre-CAS interview guide and pre-CAS interview questions.
The UKVI interview: the Home Office's process
The UKVI interview comes from the genuine student test in the Home Office caseworker guidance. A Home Office caseworker must be satisfied, on the balance of probability, that the applicant is a genuine student.
On when an interview is needed, the guidance says: The caseworker must not refuse an applicant on genuineness grounds without interviewing them, except where an earlier refusal on those grounds stands with no change in circumstances or new evidence, or where many near-identical applications have been made and a sample of those applicants has been interviewed.
On how it is held: Interviews can be held by telephone, or arranged by email or phone for a set time and place.
The factors the guidance lists for a caseworker to consider include:
- Immigration history in the UK and other countries
- Education history, study plans and how the course fits them
- Personal and financial circumstances
- The qualification, the course provider and any agent involved
- English language ability
- The role of any dependants
- What draws the applicant to study in the UK
It also sets a limit: A caseworker must not refuse an applicant because of what they know about the place where they will study.
What they have in common
Both interviews try to answer the same basic question, whether you are a genuine student, so the same preparation helps with both: know your course and university, understand your funding, have a realistic plan, and keep every answer consistent with your documents.
The difference is the stakes and the stage. The pre-CAS interview decides whether you get a CAS. The UKVI interview is part of a visa decision, and what you say there should match what you told your university.
Practise for the right one
- Waiting for your CAS? Practise the pre-CAS interview with the finduni.ai mock interview.
- Have your CAS and applying for the visa? Practise a spoken, back-and-forth conversation with UKVI interview practice.
Practice helps you speak clearly and consistently. It cannot predict or guarantee a CAS or visa decision. For the rest of the visa process, read UK student visa from Nepal.